Valentine's aprons!

What to do with this Betty Boop fabric? I bought it with a quilt idea in mind - but it wasn't going to work. Nope, no way. But I knew that if I didn't find a use for this fabric - it would sit on my shelf, and sit and sit.

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I wanted these aprons done for Valentine's day dinner so last time I was away shopping I picked up the fusable interfacing. The bistro apron is fused on one side with lightweight fusable interfacing - the back is ALSO Betty Boop fabric. The bib apron - I only used the fusable interfacing to "glue" the heart down. NOT thrilled with the fit of the bib apron (Simplicity 3949), but for a holiday event, it was fine - and maybe it will fit one of my sisters better. The bistro apron is my own "design" if you can call it that - I just cut a big rectangle, fused 1 of them, layered them together and put binding all around. Extra long binding ties across the front.

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A quick and easy way to do machine applique - I cut fusable interfacing 1/4" smaller than the piece to be appliqued. Put the heart wrong side up, put the fusable interfacing - sticky side UP. Very carefully iron the edges of the heart onto the sticky part of the interfacing. Now - position heart on bib and FUSE in to place. Blanket stitch around the heart. No raw edges. No pinning. No slipping. Crisp edge. I LOVE this technique! Here's a close up of the heart - the green is actually a very bright, shocking green.

Not much of that green fabric left - I really like how it POPS right out at you so will probably cut the tiny bit left into little squares - to be used here and there. And, I used up almost ALL of that Betty fabric - although there is enough to make some more hearts - next apron will probably be a carpenter's style apron with a heart fused on, but I have a whole 'nuther year before Valentine's Day rolls around again.

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Which might be a good thing, considering we had a blow up in the kitchen this year and things were very hectic to say the least. A word of warning - never, ever, ever put a glass pyrex dish on the stove - this is what happened (nope, not me)- and the thing exploded with a huge BANG and sent glass pieces everywhere, and I do mean everywhere. Blessings though - no one was in the kitchen, phew, because if you could have seen the glass - if someone was in the kitchen they would have been hurt for sure! Alot of the do-ahead prep work had to be thrown out, yikes! But in the end everything was fine, no one got hurt and everyone said their dinner was very good. So, still a success. Although I must admit - Friday was a bit of a bust because I was super tired.

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My Sunday Stash-busting report is Betty Boop. And yesterday I spent 1/2 an hour at the machine chain piecing HST's. That's it! But, it was fun - a great use of that fabric!